222 PLANTS AND MAN 



located from two to four feet above the ground. The buckets are 

 emptied, generally twice daily, into a large tank on a sled or 

 wagon and hauled to the evaporator. This consists of several 

 large, shallow pans with a fire box underneath, for boiling down 

 to the desired consistency of syrup or sugar. Very little maple 

 sugar is produced today, most of the product being in the form 

 of the familiar light or dark brown syrup, the lighter grades being 

 considered more desirable, and commanding a higher price. 

 Maple syrup produced late in the season is generally darker and 

 has a stronger taste, which makes it undesirable. 



The peaks of production of sugar and syrup, according to 

 United States Bureau of Census records, were reached in 1859, 

 when the records were started, and in 1918. In these years, the 

 total production reduced to terms of sugar, was fifty two million 

 pounds. Since 1918 there has been a steady decline in production 

 until at the present time the annual product equals less than 

 one-half that of the peak years. 



Several varieties of the genus Sorghum, which also includes the 

 fiber plant, broomcorn, serve as a source of sorghum syrup. 

 Sweet sorghum, also called sorgo, is native in the tropics and 

 subtropics, but has long been cultivated outside of its native 

 habitat. Sorghum does not require as long a growing season as 

 does sugar cane, hence is much more widely grown in the United 

 States, but most of the production is in the southern states 

 and the syrup is usually consumed near its point of origin. Sixty 

 years ago sorghum was a much more important crop plant than 

 today, due to the increasing production of cane sugar syrups and 

 corn syrups. The juice obtained by crushing the stems of these 

 sweet sorghums is evaporated in shallow pans to the desired 

 consistency of syrup. This process yields a nutritious, distinc- 

 tively flavored, dark syrup, which is widely used in cooking. 



Several tropical palms yield juices which are boiled down to 

 a syrup or sugar for local use in the regions where such plants 

 grow. The coconut palm, wild date palm, palmyra palm, and 

 several of the oil palms are the most used species. The date palm 

 is tapped in much the same manner as the maple, but in other 

 species, the tips of unopened flower clusters are cut off, and the 

 exuding sap collected. Three quarts of this juice, known as 



